Madison, WI Mass Times

Naturally, it is a good idea to check directly with the parish by phone or website to verify times. These parishes also have many more events that may be of interest to you. Mass times that fulfill the Sunday Mass obligation are in red to make them easy to find on the page. Parish locations are sorted on this page by location: first Central/South Madison, then East/North Madison, then West Madison/Middleton. (This page was last updated December 2012. If you notice obsolete info, please leave a comment)

The Diocese of Madison has a parish location page at this link with a helpful Google map pinpointing the locations of every parish in the diocese. When you’re traveling you may find MassTimes.org a very helpful resource.

Looking for the Sunday Mass of last resort? It’s best to plan to go Sunday morning. Saturday evening vigil Masses are also a possibility. The latest Sunday Mass in town is 9pm Mass at St Paul’s on the UW Campus–but only when the university is in session, approx. September-May, and excluding Christmas break. Year-round there is a 6 pm Mass at St Paul’s, 6:30 Mass in Spanish at Holy Redeemer Church, 7pm Mass in Spanish at St Joseph Church. Certainly a Spanish Mass will fulfill your obligation even if you do not understand Spanish.

Traditional Latin Mass: St Mary of Pine Bluff among the farm fields west of Madison and St Norbert’s in Roxbury have Sunday TLM. St Mary of Pine Bluff also occasionally has a TLM (check with parish). One source of info is the Tridentine Mass Society of Madison (Fr John Zuhlsdorf is currently president).

There are more “Mass Tips” down at the bottom of this page, some quite important (scroll down).

If posted confession times don’t work, contact a priest to make an appointment for this Sacrament of God’s mercy. Madison area churches with particularly extensive scheduled confession times include St Paul’s and Holy Redeemer (Cathedral Parish) downtown, as well as on the east side at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monona, and west of town at St Mary of Pine Bluff, and I know all these priests to be good confessors. Be not afraid. Peace be with you.

CENTRAL (AND SOUTH) MADISON:

Cathedral Parish of Saint Raphael (St Patrick Church and Holy Redeemer Church) (updated 12/14)(608)257-5000In the middle of downtown Madison. Consists of two churches: St Patrick’s @ 404 E Main (click for Google Map), and Holy Redeemer on W Johnson half a block north of State Street (click for Google Map). St Raphael’s Cathedral burned down by arson and we look forward to having a new Cathedral some day on the same site.Holy Redeemer Church has a beautiful Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel where you are welcome to visit Our Lord. Enter through the side door of the church. On Wednesdays adoration is in the Church upstairs all day from 9am until Benediction at 5pm.
Confessions 4:15-5pm Mon-Wed, 7:30-8am Sat, 3:30-4:30pm Sat at St Pat’s, and 6:30-6:55am Sun at Holy Redeemer.

St Paul’s University Catholic Center
(608)258-3140@ State & Lake Streets on Library Mall, on the UW Campus(click for Google map)During the school year Mon-Fri there is Eucharistic Adoration 8-9:15am and Morning Prayer is prayed at 9am; this is well attended by students. Mon,Tue,Wed,Fri the priest places the veiled ciborium containing the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. Thursdays there is Exposition and solemn Benediction.
Confessions 30 minutes before every Mass. Occasionally in Lent and even Advent these hero priests have a special day of all day confessions.

Mass times during the school year:
Mon,Tue,Thur,Fri — 12:05pm and 5pm. Fri 5pm is usually Novus Ordo in Latin.
Wed — 12:05pm and 9pm. This late Mass is celebrated in candlelight with incense and a good a cappella choir that sings various music including Renaissance polyphony.
Sat — 12:05pm. There is no Saturday Mass of anticipation at St Paul’s. There is a 5pm Mass in Korean, but this is clearly for the Korean community.Sun — 9am, 11am, 6pmhas “praise and worship” music, 9pm.

Mass times during Christmas Break and Summer Break
Mon-Fri — 12:05pm. Call or check the website for accurate winter break schedule, usually there are no weekday Masses from Christmas through early January.The Novus Ordo is sometimes celebrated in Latin Fri 12:05pm.
Sun — 10am and 6pm.

Good Shepherd Parish (St James Church and St Joseph Church) (updated 12/14)(608)268-9930St James is on the South side of the downtown area in the Vilas neighborhood, and St Joseph is just south of the Beltline near Fish Hatchery Road. This merged parish consists of two churches, St James @ 1128 St James Court near Meriter Hospital (click for Google Map), and St Joseph @ 1905 W Beltline Highway (click for Google Map). There is also a St James School, pre-K through 8th grade. This parish has a particularly complicated Mass and Confession schedule and it is a fine idea to go to their website or contact them to make sure of times.
Confessions — in Jan, March, May, July, Sept, Nov they are Sat 9:15am at St Joseph, and in Feb, April, June, Aug, Oct, Dec they are Sat 9:15am at St James

Mass Times for Holy Days of Obligation
The day before the Holy Day — 7pm vigil Mass at St Joseph
On the Holy Day itself — 8:30am and 7pm at St James

UW Hospital and Clinics Chapel (updated 12/14)
(608) 263-8574 (number for UW Hospital Spiritual Care Services)The Flad Family Chapel is part of the American Family Children’s Hospital, which is part of the UW Hospital complex (click for Google Map). Fr Diego Rivera is the full-time Catholic priest chaplain at UW Hospital, a very kind man and he certainly hears Confessions, brings Holy Communion to the bedridden and administers the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. He speaks Spanish also.

Mass Times
Monday-Thursday — 12:05pm
Sunday — 4pm

Saint Mary’s Hospital Chapel (updated 12/14)
(608)258-6771 (special Chapel phone number to learn of possible changes in Mass times) or (608)258-6769 (Pastoral Care office)@ 700 South Park Street (click for Google Map). Madison’s only Catholic hospital. The hospital chapel is located on level 1 on the Mills Street side of Saint Mary’s Hospital, and the Blessed Sacrament is reserved there in the tabernacle. I believe there is now a Dominican Order priest serving as Catholic chaplain at St Mary’s; there are also lay pastoral staff. Those staying in the hospital should inquire about seeing a priest for Confession, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, or etc. A “Memorial Mass” is held the last Sunday of each month at 10:30 am in the Chapel; at this Mass the names of all patients who died in the hospital the previous month are read. Within the hospital, Mass is broadcast on TV channel 100.

Mass Times
Tue-Thur — 7am and 8:30am
Mon and Fri — 8:30am
Sat — 8:30am, and a Saturday evening Mass of anticipation which fulfills the Sunday Mass obligation at 5pm
Sun —7:30am, 9am, and 11am, also there is a Youth Mass at 5pm every 3rd Sunday during the school year, with a social afterward, must check schedule, this is a praise&worship/pop/rock style Mass

Catholic Multicultural Center, aka St Martin House
608-661-3512On the South Side of Madison just off South Park Street @ 1862 Beld Street. (click for Google Map) This center is sponsored by Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish and hosts daily free meals for the poor every day of the week, a food pantry and “personal essentials pantry”, English as a Second Language classes, a computer lab, employment assistance, a nurse who provides health services, homework help for children, the Pregnancy Helpline Sharing Center, and even more services and events. You can volunteer there, and they certainly accept donations. There is a chapel with stained glass windows where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. In addition to one Spanish and one English Mass per week, there is Eucharistic Adoration 1-3pm on Wednesdays.

Mass Times
Wednesday 12:00 pm – en Espanol/Spanish followed by Eucharistic Adoration 1-3pm
Saturday 8:30 am – English – one source says this may be followed by a breakfast?
There is not a Sunday Mass at the CMC

EAST MADISON:

Saint Bernard on Atwood Avenue (updated 12/14)(608)249-9526On Madison’s East Side kind of near the Botanical Gardens, @ 2450 Atwood Avenue (click for google map)
Check their schedule for various devotions. They have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Friday 9-11 AM.
Confessions Mondays 5:45 PM (but not on 1st Monday of each month), Fridays 9am during Adoration subject to availability of the priest, Saturdays at 3:30 PM, Sundays 9:45 AM (apparently briefly, just before 10 AM Mass)

Immaculate Heart of Mary (updated 12/14)(608) 221-1521East of Lake Monona @ 5101 Schofield Street, Monona, WI (click for Google Map)
There is also an Immaculate Heart of Mary School, preschool through Grade 8, and it is not required to join IHM parish; many families belong to other Catholic parishes. Their website underscores Catholic identity throughout their curriculum.
There is a Holy Hour and Adoration Saturday, 9:00am – 10:00am.
Confessions half an hour before every daily Mass and 40 minutes before every weekend Mass.

Mass Times
Saturday – 5:00pm
Sunday – 8:00am and 10:15am (this Mass usually includes “Liturgy of the Word with children”)

Schoenstatt Marian Shrine (updated 12/14)(608) 222-7208On the southeast side of Madison, @ 5901 Cottage Grove Rd (click for Google Map)This is “Schoenstatt Heights” the home of a community of consecrated women who belong to a Secular Institute called the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary that in many ways resembles a religious order. They involve Catholic lay people in their orthodox Catholic Marian movement, both single and families, and host some events open to the public. On their property one may be able to make a devotional visit to their distinctive little 1953 “Founder Shrine” with a tiny altar and pews inside dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Mother Thrice Admirable, which replicates exactly the original shrine of the Schoenstatt movement in Germany and was the first of these Schoenstatt shrines to be built in the US. “Schoenstatt” is pronounced approximately “Shun’-stat”.

Mass TimesThere is Mass here Saturday mornings served by the pastor of St Patrick in Cottage Grove. I think on the First Saturday this may be followed by events of the Schoenstatt lay movement. Contact them at the phone number above to learn more if you are interested in attending.

WEST MADISON:

Our Lady Queen of Peace (updated 12/14)(608) 231-4600On the suburban West side of Madison right on Mineral Point Road, though the address is @ 401 S. Owen Dr. (click for Google map)
The numerically largest parish in the diocese. One thing this parish is known for is helping the poor, they are the main sponsors currently of the Catholic Multicultural Center off South Park Street. They also have a K-8 school, Our Lady Queen of Peace School.
They have Eucharistic Adoration from 9am-7pm on Tuesdays.
Confessions are offered on Thursdays at 5pm, or any time by appointment.

(608)821-3000On the far West side of Madison outside the beltline @ 702 South High Point Road. (click for Google Map)This the chancery, home to the diocesan offices. There no scheduled Sunday Masses or confession times.

Mass Times
Mon-Fri 12 noon

Saint Mary of Pine Bluff, St Ignatius in Mt Horeb & Holy Redeemer in Perry (608) 798-2111West of Madison among the farm fields @ 3673 County Road P, Cross Plains WI (click for Google Map) St Mary’s shares its dynamic pastor Fr Rick Heilman with 2 other churches, St Ignatius (109 S. Seventh Street, in Mount Horeb) and Holy Redeemer in Perry (10070 Spring Valley Rd, in Perry). St Mary’s has a particularly beautiful traditional style interior and a strong Catholic identity and vibrant spiritual life to go with it. It’s the home, for instance, of the terrific men’s group Knights of Divine Mercy which typically has its “Night of Knights” meeting the first Friday of every month with a beautiful Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Confessions, a good speaker, and meal/refreshments. There is also a boys’ organization, Squires of Divine Mercy.
Confessions — 30 minutes before all weekday Masses, 30 minutes before 4pm Mass at St Ignatius, and by appointment.

St Norbert in Roxbury(608)643-6611About half an hour Northwest of Madison in the area of Sauk City @ 8944 Cty. Rd. Y; Roxbury, WI 53583. (click for Google Map) St Norbert’s is a gem of a church in a very small town out in the countryside. This parish is served by good priests of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, diocesan priests who belong to a secular institute with a traditional and orthodox outlook. They celebrate both forms of the Roman Rite, both the post-Vatican II Novus Ordo Mass and the Traditional Latin Mass.The Sunday morning Mass is the Traditional Latin Mass, often High Mass with beautiful Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony and organ music. There is Eucharistic Adoration following 8 AM Thursday Mass until 7:45 AM Friday morning.
Confessions– Monday-Friday 45 minutes before 8 AM Mass, Thursdays 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM, and Saturday and Sundays 1 hour before Mass

Valley of Our Lady Cistercian Monastery(608) 643-3520A good distance northwest of Madison (click for Google Map)
This is the only cloistered contemplative monastery in our diocese. The Cistercians are an austere branch of the Benedictine family. The nuns manufacture altar breads and chant the monastic Divine Office in Latin several times each day in their choir which is a balcony above the modest chapel. Visitors may enter the chapel by following a walkway along the right/front side of the building to the normally-unlocked chapel door. Visitors should be respectful and very quiet and remain in the public area which basically only consists of a little hallway and the chapel. The sisters have a tightly scheduled horarium and maintain silence as they go about their day, so they don’t generally meet with visitors. The sisters need donations to build a new monastery (donate by mail or online).

Mass TimesI believe they have Mass there every day and I understand that visitors are welcome to attend. You would need to call them to find out the Mass times. I think it’s in the morning on weekdays and in the middle of the day or early afternoon on Sundays. Mass is Novus Ordo and normally in English as far as I know.

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Tips for Mass

The Church encourages frequent reception of Holy Communion. To receive Holy Communion at Mass, generally you must be a Catholic, and must have been to confession more recently than the last time you committed a mortal sin–but there is much more detailed information at this link, which I encourage you to read. If you are sure of not being properly disposed to receive Communion, stay in the pew at Communion time, even if ushers or other congregants are trying to cue you to go. Then do what all the Saints did when they were unable to receive Communion: make a spiritual Communion, expressing to God in prayer your faith in His presence, and loving desire to be united with Him and with fellow Christians. The corollary of this is, it is wrong to either pressure or judge anyone abstaining from Holy Communion.

Keep in mind what the Holy Mass actually is, the re-presentation of the once-for-all saving sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. He is truly present, as at His Nativity, as at the Last Supper, as at the Crucifixion, as at His Resurrection!

Those who will receive Jesus in Holy Communion must observe a minimum fast of 1 hour prior to Communion. Anything other than water or medicine breaks the fast. Candy, gum, or beverages do not belong at Mass.

Check with the parish (I’ve included their phone numbers, and each parish name links to the parish website) to make sure of the Mass times for a Holy Day of Obligation. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops supplies this information:

In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:

January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension;
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints;
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.

By Church law, you may receive Communion up to twice in a day, but the second time must be in the context of a Mass you attend in full. There are special exceptions for someone in danger of death, who can even receive Communion a third time in a single day if it is Viaticum. (* Please make sure your Catholic loved ones have access to the last Sacraments–and that others know to arrange that for you. Even a baptized non Catholic in danger of death may be able to receive the last Sacraments if they indicate desire and belief. And everyone should know how to perform an emergency Baptism on an unbaptized person in imminent danger of death.)

There are such things as very, very low gluten (“gluten-free”) Communion hosts for people with gluten intolerance. Some parishes may have them in the sacristy and will be happy to accommodate your need if you ask before Mass. In some other cases you must obtain them yourself (taking care to get the right kind–rice ones are NOT valid). Info here.

Your little children may make some noise or fidget and this is not a disaster. Relax, parents, we love you and your kids. Do not give them snacks, headphones or electronic games during Mass. Breastfeeding is okay, mothers can use good judgement whether baby needs to nurse during Mass, or if that could be before or after Mass. Do what you can to help them understand Mass even when they are tiny, and be a model to them of prayerful attentiveness.

Modest dignity in dress is respectful of yourself, others, and the Holy Mass.

Needs such as going to the bathroom or for a drink of water should be attended to before Mass unless it’s because of a medical condition. Silence or turn off your cellphone; never answer or make calls in church, even texting is generally not appropriate.

I think no one will judge you for not putting something in the collection. If you are Catholic you should be giving to the Church somehow even if you have only a “widow’s mite”, whatever the case may be, be generous.

Do not leave Mass early. The first person to do so was Judas, at the Last Supper, the first Mass.

And… do register at your parish. Parishes have a geographic territory, so the norm is to join the nearest one, in whose territory you live. Sometimes there is a strong reason for registering with a parish other than your territorial parish. At any rate, register. If you have kids, get in touch with the parish about their religious education and receiving the various Sacraments.

And… I mention because this situation has become common… if you are in an irregular marriage situation, talk to a priest for help and guidance to set things right. Or if you had an abortion and now you regret it, yes you can be forgiven, and there is help available to heal, for instance the Diocese of Madison offers excellent free Project Rachel post-abortive healing retreats. Dear people, there are no hopeless cases. Our hope is in Christ. Don’t be afraid to talk to a priest about your personal situation.